What would a futuristic city, like the one singer Akon wants to build in Senegal, be without a specific currency? Akoin is in the experimental phase in Kenya, before launching in the rest of the continent.
This time, the project takes shape. It’s been three years since singer and businessman Akon announced the creation of a cryptocurrency in his image. It will take the form, if the operation is completed, of a connected card, Akoin (AKN).
This product, designed and developed by the American artist of Senegalese origin, will be deployed at the end of the year throughout Africa. In partnership with the crypto-bank Baank, Akoin is in the experimental phase in Kenya, before development in the rest of Africa, in the coming months.
“The AKN digital asset, powered by Stellar, has been successfully launched in Mwale Medical Technology City (MMTC), western Kenya, where residents can receive their wages in AKN to purchase goods and services.”, specifies a press release from Baanx.
“During the initial AKN card rollout, Akoin and Baanx are monitoring Akoin card transactions and AKN usage as part of the MMTC, which is expected to reach 20,000 workers by the end of the year. . Baanx confirms that the two partners will work quickly to” jointly deploy the akoin card across Africa by the end of 2021″.
The Akoin ecosystem, explain its promoters, aims to have a positive social impact on African communities, by opening up a range of financial services.
Including decentralized applications and tools for entrepreneurs to grow their business. “In addition to entrepreneurs, this service would also be a boon for African governments struggling with hyperinflation, sometimes forcing them to limit financial services for many people,” Baanx said.
With the akoin card, users will be able to pay for goods and services from 40 million global merchants. The Baanx platform operates on its side to establish itself among traders in their currency.
The currency of a smart city!
According to Lynn Liss, chief operating officer and co-founder of Akoin, for now, operations are focused on utilities, invoices and online payments. “Over time,” she says, “operations can open up to other services so that the AKN can reach up to 1.5 million transactions per month.”
With the launch of this debit card, users will be able to use AKN currency directly from their digital wallet, anywhere in the world. Of course, Akoin holders will immediately be able to convert their digital assets into currencies, and vice versa.
Of course, AKN will be the central currency of the “smart city” the singer is building in Senegal. “Akon City,” with an estimated cost of $6 billion, will therefore have its own currency.
Akon commented on his Facebook page: “This partnership with Baanx is special because not only are we lowering the barriers to entry for digital assets as a whole, but we are also creating a set of tools to attract the unbanked, in the future.”
While Baanx supports the Akoin card with compliance, KYC/AML (know your customer, anti-money laundering system), global payment gateway infrastructure and operations, akoin can focus on rapidly expanding its innovative services to its holders of digital assets.
Akon’s foray into cryptocurrency comes as no surprise. When this technique appeared, at the turn of the 2010s, their aim was to challenge the domination of fiat money.
Bitcoin is presented as an alternative to traditional currency, while Blockchain technology is a more transparent means than that of central banks, for its issuance. However, Akon considers, people in developed countries have enough confidence in their currency that they are not interested in alternatives.
This is not the case in developing countries. And, Akon considers, Africa has never known the level of stability of the first countries in the world. This generates great challenges, but also great opportunities for Blockchain technology on the continent.
Reference: https://news.bitcoin.com/akoin-cryptocurrency-kenya-akon-city/
